New 'Year of the Woman'? Over 100 female candidates set to win seats in Congress, make history

From the first gay man to win a governor’s race to the youngest woman elected to Congress, many candidates made history in the 2018 midterm election.
USA TODAY

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the winner of a Democratic Congressional primary in New York, greets a passerby in New York, Wednesday, June 27, 2018, the morning after she upset U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in Tuesday's primary election. (Photo: Mark Lennihan, AP)

WASHINGTON – More women will serve in Congress than ever before, with at least 118 set to fill seats after Tuesday's election.

As of midday on Wednesday, women had surpassed the current record of 107 voting members, according to race calls from the Associated Press analyzed by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. The new total includes 31 first-time House members, seven more than the record set for freshmen women during the 1992 "Year of the Woman" election.

The surge was driven largely by Democrats as the party took over House control. Democrats account for 84 of 96 women set to serve in the House so far, including 30 of the 31 newcomers, according to a USA TODAY analysis.

Women will represent two-thirds of the districts that Democrats flipped, building on momentum from the "Resist" movement that followed President Donald Trump's election in 2016.

Next year’s freshman class will include women of color who have broken barriers in their states, plus the youngest woman ever elected to Congress – Democratic activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, of New York, who turned 29 in October.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez arrives on stage to speak to her supporters during her election night party in the Queens Borough of New York on Nov. 6, 2018. 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New Yorks 14th Congressional district won Tuesdays election, defeating Republican Anthony Pappas and becomes the youngest woman elected to Congress. DON EMMERT, AFP/Getty Images

People watch the mid-term elections results while celebrating Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez congressional race big win during her election night party in the Queens Borough of New York on Nov. 6, 2018. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is running as the Democratic nominee for New York's 14th congressional district, talks with reporters after casting her ballot in the 2018 midterm general election at a polling site in the Bronx, New York on Nov. 6, 2018. Voters across the nation are selecting who will represent them on local, state and national levels. Justin Lane, EPA-EFE

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is running as the Democratic nominee for New York's 14th congressional district, casts her ballots in the 2018 mid-term general election at a polling site in the Bronx, New York on Nov. 6, 2018. Justin Lane, EPA-EFE

New York Democratic Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez embraces a supporter at a polling site after voting, Tuesday Nov. 6, 2018, in the Parkchester community in the Bronx, N.Y. Bebeto Matthews, AP

New York City congressional nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends a tour event as part of her congressional campaign, in The Bronx, New York on Oct. 3, 2018. Ocasio-Cortez attended the event as part of her campaign's commitment to cultivate dialogue in the Bronx and Queens. Alba Vigaray, EPA-EFE

Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks with reporters after her general campaign kick-off rally in the Bronx borough of New York on Sept. 22, 2018. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic candidate running for New York's 14th Congressional district, listens to questions at a town hall event, September 19, 2018 in The Bronx borough of New York City. In a race she is widely expected to win, Ocasio-Cortez will face Republican nominee Anthony Pappas in the November 6 general election. Drew Angerer, Getty Images

Campaign workers prepare for the arrival of democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her general campaign kick-off rally on Sept. 22, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks with supporters during her general campaign kick-off rally in the Bronx borough of New York on Sept. 22, 2018. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talks with supporters during her general campaign kick-off rally in the Bronx borough of New York Sept. 22, 2018. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Campaign brochures about democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are on hand for her general campaign kick-off rally on Sept. 22, 2018 in the Bronx borough of New York. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

New York City congressional nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, left, high-fives a young school boy at Public School 019 in Corona, Queens, New York on Sept. 13, 2018. Today voters are casting ballots in the New York State Democratic Primary. Peter Foley, EPA-EFE

In this June 27, 2018, photo, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a winner of a Democratic Congressional primary in New York speaks to a reporter in New York. Ocasio-Cortez is back on the campaign trail, but this time in the Midwest. The 28-year-old Democratic rising star is stumping for two young, progressives hoping to win Democratic primaries in Kansas and Michigan. Mary Altaffer, AP

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the winner of a Democratic Congressional primary in New York, greets a passerby in New York, Wednesday, June 27, 2018, the morning after she upset U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in Tuesday's primary election. Mark Lennihan, AP

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Eleven women senators were elected, nearly all Democrats. Marsha Blackburn, a GOP U.S. representative, defeated Tennessee’s former Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen in her bid to become the state’s first woman senator. U.S. Rep. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, ousted Republican Sen. Dean Heller in Nevada.

Blackburn and Rosen will be joined by another freshman woman, although which one is not yet clear. Two U.S. representatives, Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, were locked in a tight Senate race in Arizona, where it may take days to count all ballots.

Nine women, meanwhile, have won governors' races.

Women were poised to make significant electoral gains in this “Year of the Woman” election. Their historic involvement follows the massive Women’s March to resist Trump’s presidency and the #MeToo movements’ protest against sexual misconduct in the workplace.

In CNN exit polls, almost 80% of voters said it was very or somewhat important to see more women elected. That was a higher priority for women than for men, but not by much, CNN said.

Women smashed records this election cycle in terms of the number who filed to run, the number of women who became their party's nominees for House, Senate and gubernatorial races, and even the number of women running against women in general election races.

For the first time in history, Americans could elect more than 100 women to the House, said David Wasserman, the U.S. House editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

“That would not be occurring without Donald Trump in the White House,” Wasserman said. “It is a direct reaction to his election.”

The majority of those women who ran for House seats – 185 – were Democrats, while 52 were Republicans. About one-third were women of color.

Among the barrier-breaking races:

Michelle Lujan Grisham, a U.S. representative from New Mexico, became the first Democratic Latina governor.

Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat and member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, and Deb Haaland, a New Mexico Democrat and member of the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, were elected as the first Native American congresswomen. Results are still pending for Yvette Herrell, a GOP state representative in New Mexico and a member of the Cherokee Nation, who is running for Congress. Davids is also Kansas’ first LGBTQ member of Congress.

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib have become the first Muslim women in Congress. Omar, a Democratic Minnesota state representative, already the nation’s first Somali-American legislator, is now the state’s first woman of color elected to Congress. Tlaib, a former Michigan state legislator who is also a Democrat, had no Republican opponent in the 13th Congressional District, which includes parts of Detroit.

Guam elected its first woman governor, as former lawmaker Lou Leon Guerrero, a Democrat, claimed the position for her party for the first time since 2003.

Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat who ran unopposed, became the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts.

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New Mexico Gov. elect Michelle Lujan-Grisham greets supporters following her acceptance speech in Albuquerque, N.M. Grisham was elected New Mexico's first Latina governor and also became the first Democratic Latina governor in the country. Juan Antonio Labreche, AP

In this file photo taken on Sept. 30, 2018 Native American candidate Deb Haaland who is running for Congress in New Mexico's 1st congressional district seat for the upcoming midterm elections, speaks in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Democrat candidates Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland broke new ground on November 6, 2018, becoming the first Native American women elected to Congress, US networks projected. Haaland, 57, of New Mexico, beat Janice Arnold-Jones, a Republican, and Lloyd Princeton, a Libertarian. Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to her supporters during her election night party in the Queens Borough of New York on Nov. 6, 2018. 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New Yorks 14th Congressional district won Tuesdays election, defeating Republican Anthony Pappas and becomes the youngest woman elected to Congress. Don Emmert, AFP/Getty Images

Congressional candidate Rashida Tlaib, left, and Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones speak during the Michigan Get Out The Vote Rally by the Michigan Democratic Party on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018 at Cass Tech High School in Detroit. Tlaib is one of two Muslim women, both Democrats, to be elected to Congress. Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press via USA TODAY Network

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“When you think about what is a representative democracy, making sure that the perspectives and experiences of the entire population are mirrored in those legislative institutions, whether it’s at the state level or the federal level, is important,” said Debbie Walsh, director of Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). “Those experiences shape the policy priorities of those elected officials.”

Twenty-three women serve in the Senate, including six Republicans and 17 Democrats. Six women – two Democrats and four Republicans – are governors.

During the 1992 “Year of the Woman,” voters elected more new women – 24 – to Congress than in any previous decade, and that record has remained, according to Rutgers. That election followed Professor Anita Hill’s testimony on sexual harassment allegations against Clarence Thomas during his confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Congresswoman-elect Sharice Davids talks to a volunteer at her campaign office Oct. 1, 2018, in Overland Park, Kansas. Davids won election Tuesday, becoming one of the first Native American women headed to Congress.(Photo: Charlie Riedel, AP)

This year, protests against sexual misconduct in the workplace contributed to women's political involvement. Some candidates have shared their own #MeToo movement stories in their campaigns.

Others included their children in campaign ads, and in a couple of cases, even breastfed them. Another candidate, Liuba Grechen Shirley, a Long Island Democrat, won approval from the Federal Election Commission to use campaign funds for campaign-related child care expenses.

“To me, women win because she ran,” Walsh said, even though Shirley lost her race on Tuesday.